Hi everyone! How are you? I hope you all had an amazing weekend!
I haven't done much this weekend besides getting started really early on christmas shopping! See I have four younger siblings, my parents, my boyfriend, and my boyfriend's family that I needa get things for. Other than that, I did have one amazing event happen Friday night!
On Friday, LC was having a movie showing with the film Nailed It! by Adele Pham.
Adele Pham grew up in Portland, Oregon and now lives in New York. In her film Nailed It!, Adele goes into the question of why is the nail industry/community dominated by the Vietnamese American community.
When I heard that this was being shown at LC I was so excited! I first heard about Adele and her film in one of my favorite podcasts called "Vietnamese Boat People", a podcast about telling the story of Vietnamese immigrants and those involved in helping those coming over. Anyways, back to Adele! The MAIN MAIN MAAAAAAIN REASON I was sooooooooo excited to see the film was because I am the daughter of two Vietnamese immigrants. My dad came to the US when he was 13 and my mom came when she was 18. They met each other when they came to the US and, like many Vietnamese, they opened a nail salon! My dad went on to work for the post office and my mom still owns, works, and runs the nail salon to this day! They've had the nail salon for the past 20 years so as old as I am.
The points that Adele makes in her film (go watch it, no spoilers here!) are what I grew up with. Seeing the stories of my family being shown on the screen was just so nostalgic to watch. Like many people who come to the US, my parents came to have a better life and create a better life for their family. They saw this by opening their own business. Adele really makes all the reasons the Vietnamese community continues to grow and dominate the nail industry/community known.
One of the best parts of the night was that I was invited to a dinner with Adele! I got the amazing opportunity to tell her my story and why her making this film means so much to me. We had such an amazing conversation and she called me em! In Vietnamese, "em" means younger sister and while many call me em, hearing it from her just meant something more to me. She is an amazing person and I can't wait to see her follow up for Nailed It! and her film in the making, "State of Oregon".
This is one of the things I love about LC. You get to meet such amazing people and there is the opportunity to make such intimate connections with them! Adele and I now follow each other on instagram and told me to stay connected with her! All these connections, all these people you meet really make the college experience just greater than it already is. Being able to meet the person who told the story of my parents and show the meaning behind it all just made the feeling of belonging and included at LC grow.
Anyways, it's time I start getting ready for bed. I hope you all have an amazing week and until next time, make sure to keep hydrated!
If you have any questions or just wanna chat send me an email:
jessicadoan@lclark.edu
See y'all later!
- Jessica
I haven't done much this weekend besides getting started really early on christmas shopping! See I have four younger siblings, my parents, my boyfriend, and my boyfriend's family that I needa get things for. Other than that, I did have one amazing event happen Friday night!
On Friday, LC was having a movie showing with the film Nailed It! by Adele Pham.
When I heard that this was being shown at LC I was so excited! I first heard about Adele and her film in one of my favorite podcasts called "Vietnamese Boat People", a podcast about telling the story of Vietnamese immigrants and those involved in helping those coming over. Anyways, back to Adele! The MAIN MAIN MAAAAAAIN REASON I was sooooooooo excited to see the film was because I am the daughter of two Vietnamese immigrants. My dad came to the US when he was 13 and my mom came when she was 18. They met each other when they came to the US and, like many Vietnamese, they opened a nail salon! My dad went on to work for the post office and my mom still owns, works, and runs the nail salon to this day! They've had the nail salon for the past 20 years so as old as I am.
The points that Adele makes in her film (go watch it, no spoilers here!) are what I grew up with. Seeing the stories of my family being shown on the screen was just so nostalgic to watch. Like many people who come to the US, my parents came to have a better life and create a better life for their family. They saw this by opening their own business. Adele really makes all the reasons the Vietnamese community continues to grow and dominate the nail industry/community known.
One of the best parts of the night was that I was invited to a dinner with Adele! I got the amazing opportunity to tell her my story and why her making this film means so much to me. We had such an amazing conversation and she called me em! In Vietnamese, "em" means younger sister and while many call me em, hearing it from her just meant something more to me. She is an amazing person and I can't wait to see her follow up for Nailed It! and her film in the making, "State of Oregon".
This is one of the things I love about LC. You get to meet such amazing people and there is the opportunity to make such intimate connections with them! Adele and I now follow each other on instagram and told me to stay connected with her! All these connections, all these people you meet really make the college experience just greater than it already is. Being able to meet the person who told the story of my parents and show the meaning behind it all just made the feeling of belonging and included at LC grow.
Anyways, it's time I start getting ready for bed. I hope you all have an amazing week and until next time, make sure to keep hydrated!
If you have any questions or just wanna chat send me an email:
jessicadoan@lclark.edu
See y'all later!
- Jessica